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Except the Coburn-Burr-Hatch plan (read it here) amounts, among other things, to a big tax increase. The main way that it remains budget neutral is by making employer-provided health insurance plans, which are currently not taxed, partially taxable as income. In fact, this income replaces income that, under ObamaCare, comes from taxing companies, including the tax on medical device companies paid by firms like MedtronicMedtronic and StrykerStryker.

This fact has not escaped the notice of some prominent health reform allies. “It is a huge tax increase on workers without any confidence that they will be able to afford health insurance in the future,” says Bob Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock who previously worked in the Obama administration.

It is “essentially a very large Republican tax increase,” says Ezekiel Emanuel, the Diane V.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and another former Obama advisor. “It’s quite clear the plan is to put a bigger burden on middle class Americans.”

Here’s what the Senators propose: right now, health insurance is not taxed as income. This is arguably the original sin of the U.S. healthcare system, which has insulated consumers from health costs and allowed prices to skyrocket. During World War II, wages were frozen but pensions and benefits were exempted; in 1943 the Internal Revenue Service ruled that these benefits weren’t taxable, either.

Many health economists believe this is a bad thing, because it shields people from paying their own premiums, and Coburn, Burr, and Hatch deserve credit for tackling this head on. But that doesn’t make this any more politically workable – or appealing to those of us who get health insurance through our employers.

Therefore, our proposal caps the tax exclusion for employee’s health coverage at 65 percent of an average plan’s costs. The value of employer-sponsored health insurance would be capped and indexed to grow at an annual rate of CPI +1.

Taxing 35% of the average plan – and more than that for plans that are above-average, as half are, could amount to a substantial tax. Tying the growth of the tax-exempt portion of the plan to the Consumer Price Index would also limit the cost of plans, pushing cost-saving measures.

How big a tax might this be for an average American family? Ezekiel has some numbers. The average employer health plan for a family of four costs $16,351, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the employer covers 72% of that, or $11,772. Thirty-five percent of $11,772 is $4,120.35. The employee’s share of the Social Security and Medicare payroll tax is 7.65%, or $315.21. Assuming this family of four is in the 25% marginal income tax bracket, that would add another $1,030.09, for a total tax increase of $1,345. (For more from Emanuel, see this Times piece.)

Up to 300% of the poverty line, there would be subsidies to help people buy insurance. It’s not immediately clear how these compare to the subsidies offered by Obamacare; they don’t look greater.

Removing a bunch of corporate taxes so that the middle class can pay more seems like a political non-starter, even given the public backlash against Obamacare. This plan would likely mean that more people would lose insurance, or be forced to go to smaller networks of doctors. Those are the same criticisms levied against the Affordable Care Act.

Another notable thing about the proposal is how much of the ACA it keeps: it gets rid of state healthcare exchanges, but it keeps the basic structure of trying to keep people in the insurance system (in this case by making pre-existing conditions something that insurers can’t use against you until you fail to sign up for coverage – and then you get slammed) and of paying subsidies to help poor people get insurance. Allowing less comprehensive benefits and allowing insurers to charge five times as much for their sickest and oldest customers as for their youngest and healthiest, compared to three times under Obamacare, could lower the cost of insurance for young people and get more of them in the system.

“The plan makes specific proposals worthy of serious consideration- although I doubt it receives it at this moment,” says Ronald Williams, the former chairman of Aetna. “Perhaps in the future it could be the foundation of serious conversations which could lead to bipartisan evolution of the current bill.”

What the plan does emphasize is the degree to which any plan to reform the insurance system can seem like a zero-sum game – the money has to come from somewhere. For insurers involved in the ObamaCare exchanges, like Humana, Molina Healthcare, and Centene, the legislative roller-coaster ride may be far from over.

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His point was that at least they are up front and honest about it being a tax. Do any of you think Obama would have been re elected if the truth was known about this fiasco? You cant keep your doctor or plan and your not saving 2500 a year if you already have insurance. We all were duped and you keep defending a liar period

Judy I very much agree. How is it that the spending of the government isn’t the problem and specific programs are?

At this very minute the AVERAGE American tax-payer is paying 52% of his income in one tax or another. And because there is no such thing as an “average” taxpayer they don’t even know it. They are perfectly happy with some 80% of all taxes being paid by a mere 10% of the population using the insane idea that as long as someone else is paying it it’s OK.

And with this very same illogic they have sold the future generations of this country into slavery. And again – they couldn’t care less because their children are stuck with living in a dictatorship as long as they personally don’t have any problems.

The difference is the Democrats put their votes where there mouths were. They proposed a bill, debated a bill, passed a bill and then lost seats because of the bill. Republicans on the other hand have spent 3 years complaining without sending up a single replacement. I think it takes a lot of courage to vote for a bill you know may cost you your job because you think it is good for the country but not so much to sit on your hands and b@#$& about it.

I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume that you were rooting for Mr. Potter in the movie: It’s a wonderful life”.

Why shouldn’t people who increase their wealth the most, from one year to the next, pay the most in taxes? They are more likely to use airports than the average American, more likely to benefit from the distant sections of the interstate highway system than the average American. They are more likely to use the courts, derive greater benefit from public education when they hire employees, and their assets in foreign lands are more likely to be protected by American military power than average Americans.

Yet you seem to think that average Americans should subsidize the rich?

The complete FAILURE of Osama Obamacare is 100% on the backs of DemoCRAPS… It’s SOOO good for our country, yet has taken more insurance AWAY from Americans than has given.. You truly should put your crack pipe down already… That is FACT.. Not one single Repub voted for that trashy bill.. Hell, the DemoCRAPS couldn’t even take time out of their day to read the damn thing.. OH, DemoCRAPS can’t read.. They are a TRUE product of public education…. MORON…..

The fact you said Osama Obamacare already shows your intelligence level, but you made a good point. It is true not one of the Republican voted for the Bill, but you failed to mention that they didn’t vote for any other bill since Obama been president, for the last 6 years! Even bills they fundamentally believed in, so that being said your arguments fits your intelligent level. Have a great day. Get some rest

Courage to support a Bad bill, that’s no courage! Congress and the President took upon an outh to their office, Support and Defend the Constitution of the United States not for what they wish for it to be…..

So what do you do when the Senate is controlled by the other party? That is just what any party would do – Republicans complaign when Democrats are in control of the Senate and Democrats complaign when the Republicans are in control of the Senate. That’s how it works.

Da’ud- That’s not true at all. The GOP has proposed in piecemeal fashion over the past 14 years changes to the healthcare system. Steve Forbes ran in 2000 with an increase in HSAs as part of his platform. The GOP, rightly so, as history has proven them right, wanted to do it in piecemeal fashion because an entire overhaul of the system would be, well Obamacare-like in it’s catastrophe. I think you can agree that they were right now. As far as debate goes, that’s just a lot of hot air when the rubber meets the road and the law is actually written. The GOP got no input on this. I recall a Saturday meeting that Obama called the GOP leaders to in the White House- all for show- it lasted something like 22 minutes and was billed as his ‘outreach’ to the GOP. Sorry, but this millstone will be hung around the Dems necks this November and rightly so. The manner they passed this in, for the deceit and outright lying for three years about it they deserve the political wilderness until ALL of them that voted for this are out of office. We deserve better as a nation and it would send a resounding message to future politicians that we aren’t battered wives that keep coming back. Lies this big MUST be punished or we’re doomed as a nation.

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Sorry, you are right. They wanted to keep the car running down the road and change one tire at a time. Then change the timing belt and so on and so on. The dems on the other hand have said stop. We are going to look at the whole car and make all the changes at once. Then do a test drive, tweak, drive then tweak, not keep it going and fix it on the run. What did the republicans do when they controlled the reins of government. Nothing. They had 4 years under Bush controlling all three houses, Senate, Rep, and White. O had 2 and got us comprehensive changes. It may be filled with warts but like Social Security and Medicare did for old age, OCare is set to change the trajectory of healthcare in America. Lastly No I don’t agree, Obamacare isn’t a train wreck. The roll-out of the Exchanges was a train wreck but OCare itself will have more Americans insured than were before it was in place. It will have more American’s paying a share of the cost and fewer left out in the cold Middle class in all ways but healthcare. I think you are right that Dem’s will be out in the wilderness in this next election the media has been harping train wreck loud and long enough to convince even those who are better off that it is a mess. But in the end Republicans will not get their way. They don’t have the power to repeal as shown in the 46 votes nor do they have a plan in place to replace it. This “plan” is just ideas, words, they haven’t put their jobs on the line by putting their votes on a plan as the Dems did in 2009. In the end we as a nation will be better off with OCare.

The fallacy of pushing HSAs as a solution is that if something bad happens to you, you could be financially wiped out. The risk gets pushed onto the saver, which is fine as long as nothing happens to them. But all it would take is something that causes a $50,000 hospital bill to incur (or worse). How many people can save up enough to cover something like that and how long would it take? As a consumer of hospital services, you never, ever have a doctor or hospital telling you what something costs and letting you decide whether it is worth it to you. You only find out later, when you get the statement and find out how much the insurance covered for you. Besides that, insurance companies and especially the government have much more clout negotiating with providers. The individual has least clout of all and pays the most.

And You seem to think that the young and healthy should subsidize those who are sick and DO Cost the system. How about this novel idea? Pay your own health care costs whatever they may be. If you need assistance, then that is what we the taxpayers (both middle income and rich) pay into Medicaid for, so that you guys can receive the care you need. I am so sick and tired of hearing that the rich don’t pay their fair share, and I am a retiree who lives on a meager pension. They Do Pay their fair share and more, what is happening is that we are paying for everyone who comes into this country (illegally), and those who feel the world owes them entitlements. When you put that with folks who are spoiled because their employer pays for 75% of their healthcare costs, why on earth shouldn’t they be made to pay a little more for their own care?? This is why the Big Bro Government Entitlement Society is so debilitating, as more and more folks believe they are Entitled to a lot more than they really are!!!

Their votes? what about their OWN money? All the Democrats I’ve seen expect OTHER people to pay the costs of a system THEY believe in, while exempting themselves and their financial supporters. What religious group gets away with voting to force opposing religious groups to pay for their religious agenda? As Democrats as doing to Republicans?

The Republicans I know are waiting for the system to crash so the blame is clearly on Obamacare. When Obamacare imposed changes without proving their effects first, all the lost insurance coverage got blamed on Obamacare while proponents deny responsibility. So if the Republicans change it again, they will get blamed. That’s why most are waiting for Democrats to take responsibility for what is going on.

They should have tested out the plan in a contained market first, before implementing it nationally. The whole ACA should be amended to be optional to follow, so if people don’t follow it and set up other alternatives, the responsibility is separated and clear. otherwise we cannot tell what systems work or not if people are under systems they DO NOT BELIEVE IN. that is unconstitutional anyway, to set up a national religion based on faith in singlepayer govt health care. That cannot be set up, and imposed on taxpayers under penalty of law who don’t believe in federal govt taking over states rights, without violating the Constitution. Why is the burden put on citizens to prove we are innocent, and had rights taken away without due process? The burden of proving we committed crimes to lose our rights belongs to the politicians abusing govt to pass laws treating working citizens as criminals. Charging more to lawabiding taxpayers who committed no crimes, while even criminals in prison are not required to pay for health care. How is THAT taking responsibility for how tax dollars are spent?

I question some of your logic. 1. Proposed a Bill ? 2. Debated a Bill ? 3. Passed a Bill ? 4. I think it takes a lot of courage to vote for a bill you know may cost you your job because you think it is good for the country ?

The Democrats used a super majority to pass what is arguably the worst bill ever sent through Congress. It amounts to the largest Tax increase this country has ever seen. The Supreme Court called it a Tax. Did they really think this ? Or did they want to help a new President push his agenda ?

One should wonder why Mr. Obama with his Super Majority did not fix the economy first. I suspect had he spent his first term doing this he would have won in a landslide for his second term. Then he could actually push a bi-partisan bill for health care for. Instead he decided to not get any Republican input on such a large scale bill. One could argue his arrogance at doing this.

AN interesting point of view but the reality is that government has little business putting forward a “Health care bill” to begin with. The Republicans, as you rightly state have done nothing to help, but the Democrats have done worse, they have actually done something, and it is not good, it is not health care reform it was health insurance reform and the way it was written it was a direct financial attack on the middle class. What is the logic as a member of the middle class wanting to work up the fiscal ladder if your only reward is to have your gains confiscated by the government to pay for those who as less motivated? I am currently at the lower end of the middle class scale but I am high enough on the scale that I don’t qualify for subsidies. If Obama care is not repealed, and the taxes in it are put into full effect, I will very likely tell my boss to keep my next pay raise since if I accept it, I will move to an income level where I will actually lose money due to increased taxation, and I may in fact look for a lower paying job to grab some of the subsidies, since that will be in the near term a more beneficial economic model for my family.

When the top 10% earn 50.4% of income, they can be expected in a flat tax system to pay 50.4%. However, as a society, we have agreed that those with more should pay a higher percentage in taxes.

In terms on federal income taxes, the top 10% of earners pay just over 70% of all income tax dollars the government receives. As far as progressive tax systems go, this makes the US one of the lease progressive countries in the industrialized world.

One “Fair Tax” system might be one in which the absolute value of savings at year end was equal. So If you make 10,000/year and it costs 9,900 just to cover basic living costs, you get to save 100/year. If you make 1,000,000 per year, you also get to save 100/year.

its a reasonable tax that benefits the middle class. I mean come on this Republican bill is trying to get rid of state exchanges. Now think about it, who benefits from that, you guess it the large companies. The ACA allows for the little guy to compete with the big guy and large corporations hate it.

John: Are you suggesting the American health care system of the past couple of decades has not ‘cost an outrageous amount of money’? Who do you think pays for the uninsured and the under-insured? Your comment is empty headed belly-aching, while you provide nothing of merit or perception.

Dennis is absolutely correct. Health care costs in this country have increased to outrageous proportions. Health ins. companies spend billions of dollars a year lobbying congress and it surely isn’t to lower the cost of healthcare for the average citizen.

The difference in this plan gets rid of mandates. It also puts the administration of health care in the hands of doctors rather than the Government. Kathleen Sebelius is going to oversee your healthcare. She is the one that told Obama that the website was ready for production. How well did that work?

Here is how pays for the uninsured and the under insured…they do. You see, they don’t get big cuts like insurance companies. They don’t get a cash discount, they just have to pay and set up payment plans. So even if they only pay 75% of their bill they still pay more than the insured. That excuse is getting OLD.

Dennis, you apparently have not experienced 250 to 300 percent increases in premiums like I have since Obama showed up in the White House. And my deductibles? It was $500 when Obama took office and mid-summer 2014 it will be $6250.

In addition to paying sky high premiums and ridiculous deductibles, my taxes also are up about $9,000 this year due to Obama’s new taxes to pay for this giveaway.

So John Bishop has a right to be griping. Obviously you are not one of the “givers” but probably a “getter”.

and calling out John says what of you? Why don’t state your op and state WHO pays for it, then provide something that backs it up? Me? I’m waiting to go on barbituates before I venture into these shark infested waters. Yes, gov’t lackeys scour all corners of the internet.

Luckily what you “think” doesn’t affect reality. And the reality is this: Obamacare is working, it’s constraining costs, it’s giving more people access to affordable insurance, it’s gaining popularity by the day, and it’s not going anywhere. Facts — regardless of what you want to “believe” (just like the realities of evolution and climate change). Deal with it.

Dennis, apparently you are empty headed as you do not know what you speak of. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court said that Obamacare was legal as it was a tax on the people. So before you attack, educate yourself because you provide nothing of merit or perception. By the way, read Justice Roberts dissertation.

And your comment is narrow minded and ignorant of what’s going on around you. The health care system of the past did not put as much burden on the private sector (you and me) as Obamacare is designed to. Yes, Insurance companies and hospitals picked up the tab! Free county hospitals, charity clinics, and welfare subsidies distributed the debt. AT LEAST IT WASN’T PASSED TO PRIVATE BUSINESS OWNERS to provide socialized care for the general public. The system worked fine! And none of this addresses the real problem: the cost of health care! The pharmaceutical industry, specialized doctors who pass us around as patients, and a glut of overpaid nurses are the problem! Trust me, I know plenty of them. But everyone thinks this is OK as long as they get theirs.

Dennis – Who do you think is paying for these same people under Obamacare? People that had health insurance which was right for them and their families but, did not include coverage for birth control or pre-natal have been deemed by Obama to be insufficient. Insufficient to whom? Many of these people that did not need that type of coverage did not purchase that type of coverage. So now, EVERYONE has to pay even if this type of coverage does not apply to them and never will. What happen to choice? Liberals are always talking about a “women’s right to chose”, yet no one else gets to chose? These people had perfectly good insurance, which fit their needs, canceled. Now they have to pay extra for those that are not covered and if they don’t they get taxed. The other thing people like this Author and the national media haven’t told you is that the insurance companies have been guaranteed reimbursement by the federal government should these pools not be sufficient to cover everyone AND for them to still make a profit. They get paid no matter what.

Lastly, please name ONE thing the federal government is in charge of that runs proficiently without abuse from those using it? I am willing to bet that you cannot.

Maninthemoom850, you sound like you are in the moon. Maybe you should apply on the marketplace if what you claim is true about your premiums and deductibles. It sounds like you are in the 1% and are crying because you’re not getting your free ride anymore in life. So, John Biship doesn’t have any reason to grip. Obviously you were one of the getters all your life and now have to carry your own butt for a change.

I call BS! There is no possible way your deductible is up to $6,250 unless YOU CHOSE THAT DEDUCTIBLE. Your taxes aren’t up $9,000 and the President has no control over what premiums insurance companies charge either! If you can’t tell the truth just keep quiet!

John is calling a dog, a dog. Obamacare is the largest tax hike in history. It will even more widen the gap between the rich and poor. Not to mention how green pea soup might become the nations average family meal because of the strain this new TAX will put on American families.

John and Maninthemoon850, obviously you haven’t been following the facts. Since 2001 my Insurance went from $110, $220, $275, $350, $475, n then $525 and that was from 2001 to 2008 (Bush administration). Now under Obama admin my insurance is $375 without Obamacare. I know you 2 Republicans understand what Dennis was saying but because you don’t like Obama you won’t give credit..well here is a simple fact that you 2 won’t like and it’s the truth. The so called ACA (Obamacare) well guess who wrote 85% of that bill….REPUBLICANS!! Back in 2008 the Republicans wrote that bill before Obama took office because they wanted to pass a ACA bill before Bush left office. BUT, when Obama took office and liked the bill the Republicans backed away because it would’ve been under Obama admin. You don’t have to take my word just Google it and you will see that the bill was a Republican bill. So the next time you criticize Obamacare remember it was your Party that wrote it. Also, your leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor actually went on Healtcare.gov and found out that if they were able to receive the ACA their premiums would’ve been alot LESS than what they’re paying. Again don’t believe me this came from Their mouths..hahahaha

Only if you don’t need to use it. The forced mandates through ObamaCare have cost millions their very reasonable health care plans. This isn’t even over yet since the Employer Mandate has yet to kick in. Many companies are planning on divesting their retirees like IBM and GlaxoSmithKline already have. Other smaller companies will cut back on employees or cut back on hours to avoid penalties. ObamaCare is a farce that has done nothing to control the costs of health care in this country. It only address access to health care insurance. What we need is real reform of the whole system.

You are spot on John and for Dennis who wants “Merit and Perception” he should look no further than the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare wherein it was allowed to stand as a “TAX”. Now, the Atheist Left media doesn’t want to call any attention to the fact that as a verified tax Obamacare is the single largest tax ever imposed on the American people. Not a matter of perception John, FACT. While it’s nice that the Republicans have finally come out with some suggestion it still misses the point of making sure that healthcare is affordable. Don’t confuse this with health insurance being affordable, two different things, and all of the elected folks in DC don’t want to deal with the hard part of actually reforming the cost structure, most of which could be solved with some sensible tort reform. At this point, both Obamacare and the Republican option still put the financial burden solidly on the middle class.

What is this problem you right wingers have with facts ? The best the Republicans can offer is terrible . The ACA isn’t perfect (should be sigle payer with no private insurer profit involved ) ,but it is far better than what was in place before . Maybe you are just stupid .

Tom – What FACTS are you speaking of? The FACT that Obama care cost millions of Americans their health insurance? Or the FACT that, for those that lost coverage and attempted to get it though the government, they found their costs went up more just so someone else could get free birth control? No, Obama care is NOT perfect, it’s actually a tax on working Americans to pay for those non working. Same old democrat story, take from the producers and give to the non-producers.

If you want single payer then maybe you should move to Cuba or another third world country that has single payer. I am betting you will not like what you find when it’s time to see a doctor. It appears that is is YOU who is just stupid.

ALL THOSE REPLIES AND NONE OF YOU GOT IT RIGHT!!!!!!! Read Title 9 of ObamaCare… No one like Pilousi, but EVERYONE takes her advice and doesn’t read the stupid thing!!!!! Title 9 contains 1 trillion dollars per year of NEW taxes, always has, always will!!! I’m amazed that Forbes hasn’t caught it…

ObamaCare isn’t a tax law because the “court says so”, or because the “rates are so high”, or the “deductibles will drown people”…. ObamaCare is a tax bill because it collects 10 times as much money as would be needed to buy 100% medical coverage for everyone from any insurance company if they just bought it for us direct… For 100Billion Dollars, The Carpenters Union could give 100% medical Dental and Vision to ALL Americans – Obamacare costs 1 Trillion Dollars…

Where is the extra 900 Billion Dollars going? Where does it ever go?!? The problem is BOTH PARTIES want that money, so they focus on everything else and of course, being the Lemurs that we are we follow their lead…

But as bad as that is… If any would bother to run the numbers, they would see that Obamacare is going to run the middle class into poverty, and the currently poverty stricken into bankruptcy…

Log Onto HealthCare .gov, type in your age and city and run various incomes, then do the math for your area, and it’s EASY to see that ObamaCare, even with the subsidies will destroy the lower half of America, the EXACT people this was forced on us for… Understand section 4100 explains that the subsidies are Tax Credits, and if the government fronts that money to cover the premiums, then at tax time, any amount paid that is higher than the Taxes owed, will have to be paid back to the IRS…

A Person making $16,000 per year HAS TO buy Obamacare… without Obamacare, he has $1,000 per month to survive on, take away premiums and /or deductibles and /or 40% of the bill and what is he left to live with? Then because he only owes $1600 in taxes and the fronted premiums are $5,000 he will owe the IRS $3400 at the end of the year…

The Pilousi period is over… you need to read, and do the math… THEN log on and make comments!!!

By reading more we find that your assessment of this compared to the current program ACA, the GOP answer is way higher in taxes for the consumer, per another Forbes article!! Typical response is that everything you disagree with becomes bad, over priced and over regulated, but we know that the truth will set you free!

So your premiums QUADRUPLED? How is that while the last 2 years premium increases have been the lowest in more than 20 years?

Before some of the knee-jerk reactionaries gets in a tizzy for challenging their dogma, these are known stats, but also I know because I buy insuarnce plans for my business. The last 2 years, we had a couple of % drop, and a couple of percentage raise in premiums. The 10 years prior, yearly premium raises where 13% to 39%. This may sound outrageous and it is. The only solution was to lower coverage.

If you saw a quadrupling, you probably did NOT have proper and useful insurance. In most states, you could sell insurance that cover doctors visits but are renewable quarterly, every 6 months or yearly. Basically, if you EVER got really sick, they will drop you, and you become OUR problem(the rest of the insurance paying public) because your $1M hospital bill will go unpaid. The most helpful aspect of the law is the safety of knowing that you can never be dropped and no lifetime maximums, which is what insurance is supposed to be for. For decades, medical bills account for the majority of personal bankruptcies including for people with insurance. This is ridiculous, and a major drain on our economy.

Agreed! TY, Top. Now, if others will also analyze the facts, the ACA will continue to help everyone by providing the BEST health care insurance ever provided to the American public at any price, making other insurance companies improve the benefits of their policies, forcing insurance plans to be competitive, providing insurance guarantees for life, insuring those previously uninsured and on and on. Just recognize that the ACA is a good law and demand that Congress get on with other very direly needed legislation.

John B, It’s gonna cost? When and how much is that increase? Do you have any facts at all. If the uninsured are purchasing their own insurance what is being taxed and where is it going?

This is fact – my state paid 1.3 billion BILLION to reimburse state hospitals to treat the uninsured last year. Most of these people could have been treated by a primary care doctor (if they had insurance) and instead were treated in an emergency room – which is the most expensive treatment in the system. It clogs up the ERs for more important emergency cases like heart attacks, it a waste of money, they aren’t paying for it and It did increase my taxes. I hate to tell you, your state does it too.

Man – you’re talking about two different plans. What amounts to the traditional insurance today the 90/10 plans or it could be an 80/20 plan – employers are reducing the amount they subsidize so your premiums would go up on these plans. But they have been going up for several years, not just since 2009.

Yes, Insurance companies have been rolling out these high deductible plans, which the employers will subsidize more for now. Eventually the 90/10 plans will be so high, everyone will pick the High deductible plans and you what will happen then – they will stop offering the 90/10 plans. When that happens, the rates will increase on the High Deductible plans and the employers will reduce the subsidies again. How do I know this, I work for an insurance company and this is the same way the eliminated indemnity health plans in favor of the HMO plans in the 1980s. The insurance company and the employers manipulate the plans they offer so you make the decision on which plan they want you to take.

Really, your taxes are going up $9k this year? You must be subject to the 0.9% surcharge on incomes over $200k for single filers or $250k for married filers. $9k is 0.9% of $1million. Congratulations on making to the top 1%. ROFL

@maninthemoon850 Amen to what you said. Since the introduction of ACA, the insurance is not cheap at all! ACA is aimed for fringe “middle class” who actually earns parallel to poverty line in order to receive any subsidy.

if you earn one penny over poverty line, you end up paying high premium, and high deductible. A 6K deductible is ridiculous, next to not having insurance at all. The true cost of ACA insurance is roughly 8K per individual who does not get any subsidy. That’s assuming you get the bottom of the barrel silver plan.

At this current state, I would rather pay the 1% fine than buying an insurance, because I get better deal when paying simply out of pocket (on top of the 1% fine). I know next year, the penalty will be 2 to 3%, and by then, I will enroll, but this first year is just insane. People need to wake up to the bumped up insurance premium/deductible cost under ACA, not the other way around.

Man in the moon. If your telling the truth about your premium you can thank the GOP for getting rid of the public option. Myself I have not seen these increases that so many people claim they are getting.

December 9, 2013 Americans Familiar With Healthcare Law Are More Likely to Disapprove In the U.S., 59% of adults who are familiar with the ACA say they disapprove of the law. Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport examines how different demographics view the healthcare law.

Have you or anyone else thought that health insurance company are not the ones to blame for the high prices? As we all know every part of the country has different prices in regards to insurance. Why is that? The hospitals. Take a look at how much a person pays for an aspirin or using a bed side commode. I have worked in the rental department at the hospital before. I have also seen that patience are paying $500 for a case of isolation gowns which cost the hospital roughly $50. The insurance companies are not the ones who are getting paid; its the hospitals and doctor offices that are actually making the money.

kool aid drinker,.. the problem here is your muslim king did NOT lay out ANY plan,.. he and his circus clown backers in congress rammed this through without even reading it,… or allowing anyone else to for that matter!!!

I really don’t think that had Obama put forth an honest plan devoid of all the lies and caveats presented truthfully they probably would have accepted it. But the way the incompetent fool went about it lying to the people what did you expect.

Todd, this is a discussion and you really should not get so upset. As for your comment that the Affordable Healthcare Bill was rammed through Congress, well, it reminds me of the Prescription Drug bill that the Republicans rammed through back in 2003. So far, that bill is responsible for $12B of our currently high deficit. Democrats fought to keep the bill from passing because of the high cost. Republicans had their way just like the Democrats 5 years ago. I would call that tit for tat.

Michael: Two more things: 1) you can’t fight hate with logic; and 2) many of the haters on the right call Mr. Obama incompetent but say nothing about Mr. Bush’s gross mismanagement of the economy. At the eleventh hour of his presidency, Mr. Bush was told by Treasury secretary Hank Paulson that the U.S. economy was going off the cliff and that dramatic steps needed to be taken to save the country from a second Great Depression. More than five years after the fact, we’re still paying for this unbelievable incompetence.